Short Interest in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Declines By 36.3%

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,372,801 shares, a drop of 36.3% from the July 15th total of 19,436,113 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,723,419 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JHX. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised James Hardie Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 3.5%

James Hardie Industries stock traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.38. The stock had a trading volume of 5,656,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,128,261. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 117.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.77. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $31.35.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 2.69%.The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 259.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $972,981,000 after buying an additional 36,567,726 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,690,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $201,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758,111 shares during the period. Hill City Capital LP raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $149,852,000 after acquiring an additional 102,200 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,166,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $107,197,000 after purchasing an additional 634,354 shares during the period. Finally, RDST Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,114,000 after purchasing an additional 776,950 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.